ICC Academy awarded Research Professor Kaisa Poutanen

17/11/2017

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The ICC Academy (ICC - International Association for Cereal Science and Technology) granted VTT's Kaisa Poutanen, Research Professor in Food Technology, its most highly regarded prize, the Clyde H. Bailey Medal on 14th November 2017, for major achievements in cereals research, technology development, and the health effects of whole grains.

Kaisa Poutanen's cereal-related research has focused on whole grains and dietary fibre, as well as bio-processing and the health effects of whole grain products in particular. She has led several major international projects such as a cooperation network on Nordic rye and an EU food waste project for the development of healthy cereal products.

The ICC Academy's Clyde H Bailey Medal has so far been awarded 13 times, between 1970 and 2016. Kaisa Poutanen is the first Nordic researcher to join this group.

Diabetes and rye

Since part of Poutanen's ground-breaking research is associated with the insulin metabolism of rye products, it was highly appropriate that the medal was awarded on 14th November - World Diabetes Day.

"The 'insulin factor' in rye remains a subject of intense research, since less insulin is required to regulate blood sugar after ingesting rye than after wheat products, for example. Nutrition and the related whole grain products are an important component in the fight against the growing phenomenon of type-2 diabetes," comments Kaisa Poutanen.

ICC, International Association for Cereal Science and Technology

The ICC is an international organisation operating on five continents, with 24 countries among its members. Cereals are an important basic nutrient, particularly in developing countries, and the ICC's mission is to create and distribute information on the production of safe and healthy cereal products all over the world.

The medal was awarded at the International Whole Grain Summit 2017 in Viennaon 14 November 2017. https://www.icc.or.at/